Vistit to Brooklands Museum

5th June 2008

Report by John Sutton and Videos by Allan Calder

Brooklands Club House

We were invited by British Car Auctions to attend their Classic Car Sale at Brooklands and took the opportunity to visit the museum at the same time. 

There was the usual range of Bentley and Rolls-Royce from the recent past and it amazing how little money they fetch.  A very nice 1982 Bentley Eight with full service history and less than 80,000 miles was sold for £6,400.  A 1996 BMW 840Ci ready to drive away only made £2,700.  Prices are down slightly from last year but most of the cars were sold as they are now an alternative investment not subject to Capital Gains Tax in the UK and one can have fun at the same time.

1920 Dodge 30	Dodge cockpit

 A 1920 Dodge Model 30 with 3.5 litre engine.  This car was featured in several films including “the Great Gatsby”, “Paper Moon” and “Out of Africa”.  It sold for £7,300.

1922 Ford Model T	Ford T cockpit

A 1922 Ford Model T tourer imported from Adelaide in 2001.  It was originally supplied by Duncan Motors of Adelaide on the 21^st October 1922.

1924 Austin 7	Sports Replica	Cockpit

The 1924 Austin 7 Sports Replica was very nicely presented although the cognescenti were not sure that the body was quite correct.  It was sold for £10,000 which seemed a fair price for an early car with all the correct mechanical bits.

1928 Dodge Standard	Dodge engine bay	1931 Durant 6/19

The 1928 Dodge “Standard Six” Tourer with 3.4 litre engine was also imported from Australia in 1989 and a more unusual car was the 3.3 litre 1931 Durant 6/19 Sedan which was imported to the UK in 1972.  This model was only made in 1930/31 and is quite rare.  It sold for £7,850.

 

1936 Wolesley 14/56

Another English car was the 1936 Wolesley 14/56.  These cars were an up-marked version of the current Morris who had acquired the marque in 1927.  With only 1818cc the performance was un-spectacular but it provided comfortable family motoring and they were also well known as Police cars.  The illuminated radiator badge was an unusual feature of which other motorists took note in case they were being followed by the Police.

It found a new home for £3,700.

1949 Alvis TA 14	1949 Ford Prefect

Moving into the Post-war era was a 1949 Alvis TA 14 which made £3,700.  These were well built solid cars introduced in 1947 with a 1.9 litre engine of 4 cylinders giving an output of 68bhp.  This was a heavy car and so the top speed was only 74 mph with a 0 – 50mph acceleration in 15 seconds.  They were in production until 1950 and 3,213 TA 14’s were built and sold for £1,276.  At the other end of the price scale was the 1949 Ford Prefect E93A which retailed for about £350.  These early Post-war Fords were essentially a Pre-war design quickly put into production again when hostilities ceased.  The E93A engine was a simple but effective side valve 4 of 1172cc capacity which could be tuned to give quite a respectable output and was the basis for the 750 Motor Club’s 1172 racing formula. This was a low mileage example (67,796 miles) that had been used as a display in a Main Ford dealership.  It needed a complete re-commissioning and sold for £1,550.

1951 Ford Pilot V8

The Ford V8 Pilot was another Pre-war design which was re-introduced in the mid 1940’s.  It did, however, feature a new chassis and suspension whilst retaining the tried and trusted side valve 3,622cc V8 engine.  This example dates from 1951.

1953 MG TD Mk III	1953 MG TD Mk III	1953 MG TD engine	1953 MG cockpit

Always popular is the MG TD and this was a 1953 1250cc Mk II.  It was in excellent condition and the cylinder head had been modified to run on unleaded petrol.  The estimate was £13,000 t £15,000 but it was sold for £11,400 reflecting the state of the current financial market.   

1957 De Soto	De Soto Firedome

The 1957 De Soto Firedome Coupe was an up-market Chrysler model and this example styled by Virgil Exner was fitted with the 5.5 litre Chrysler Hemi engine.  The styling is typical of the period with excessive fins and chromium plated embellishments.  It had a 100mph plus performance which was good for a car weighing in at 1.7 tons!  It had been imported from the USA in 2005 and a considerable sum spent on repainting and new Kelsey Hayes replica wheels and tyres fitted.

1959 Porsche	Porsche interior	Porsche 356 B	1962 Mercedes	Mercedes interior	Mercedes 300 SE

Another imported car was the Porsche 356B Cabriolet of 1959.  Supplied new to South Africa it is Right Hand drive and extensive restoration work was carried out in the 1990’s.  These cars have something of a “cult” following in spite of rather poor handling but the price of £37,000 reflects their popularity.  The 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SE Cabriolet had been recently restored having spent some time in New Jersey and returned to the UK in 1992.  Being Right Hand drive it would be suited to the local market.

1975 Jensen Healey

The lat car on our tour was the 1975 Jensen Healey.  When the royalty agreement between Donald Healey and the British Leyland Motor Corporation came to an end in 1967 he was approached by the American Kjell Qvale to produce a new car following the latter’s acquisition of Jensen Cars.  When production started the cars were fitted with the new Lotus 2 litre twin cam engine.  Originally supplied to a customer in Long Beach California it was re-imported to the UK and converted to Right hand drive.  It sold for £3,550.

We have reported on VSCC events at Brooklands before and also on the Centenary meeting last year so prior to the Auction we made a video tour of the Museum including the historic Club House ably guided by Jack Stacey, one of the army of enthusiastic volunteers who make it such an enjoyable experience. 

Video tour of Club House

Brooklands is such a historic site and was for many years the only dedicated motor racing and test track available in the UK.  It was also where all the pioneer flying took place and the museum has an extensive collection of interesting and rare aircraft. 

We were fortunate to meet Bobby Verdon Roe whose grandfather A V Roe was the first man to achieve powered flight in the UK at Brooklands where there is a shed dedicated to his achievements.  There is a replica of the first Avro biplane on display in this shed which was commissioned by Bobby’s father.  A new replica of the Avro biplane was also on display where the finishing touches were being made for a 100^th anniversary demonstration flight on the 7^th June.  Bobby very kindly agreed to an interview which can be seen on this video.  

Interview with Bobby Verdon Roe